Tag: east village

Looking for some of the best hot dogs New York City has to offer? Check out our friends at Papaya King. Identifying themselves with the motto “accept no imitations”, this hot dog heaven is bringing you classic, one-of-a-kind franks and delicious tropical drinks.

Started back in 1931 by a Greek immigrant striving to pursue the American Dream, Papaya King began as a juice bar called Tropical Hawaiian Drinks. Owner, Gus Poulos, opened the stand to express his passion for blending up fresh, fruity drinks. However, not everybody in NYC had the same love for juice that Gus did right away. It took time, but eventually, Gus’s juice bar began to take off. However, it was when Gus married a young German woman and began serving frankfurters at his joint that Papaya King was put on the map. New Yorkers fell in love with Gus’s refreshing juices and savory hot dogs.

Today, Papaya King is still keeping things as classic as they can; serving quality franks and delicious drinks to happy and loyal customers. And, they’re being noticed for their efforts—Julia Child said that Papaya King serves the “best hot dogs in New York” and Martha Stewart named them one of her “guilty pleasures.”

It’s quite obvious that the magic that made Papaya King such a hit in the first place is still as present as ever. They’re still serving up classic Franks with toppings such as chili, cheese, and peppers as well as All Beef Sausages with coleslaw & pickles and Sautéed Onions & Peppers with Chili. Plus, they still have all of their amazing tropical drinks to try such as Papaya Pride or Banana Daiquiri.

We’re sure that no matter what you try at Papaya King, it’ll bring you back to old school New York City. And, if you want to bring the family oriented, welcoming Papaya King vibe to the office, take advantage of our catering options. Celebrate #NationalHotDogDay right with the best hot dogs around from this amazing restaurant.

DailyFoodtoEat is the official blog ofFoodtoEat, a socially conscious online food ordering and concierge catering service featuring your favorite restaurants, food trucks and caterers. Check out the deliciousness here: www.foodtoeat.com

Porchetta is a tiny East Village shop that does its namesake justice. Their goal was to perfect the art of making porchetta sandwiches, a traditional Italian street food that is hard to find in the city. What makes Porchetta so special, you ask? The answer is easy; the Porchetta sandwich is the kind of food that stuns because it’s simplicity marrying quality. They’ve got the recipe down to a science, perfected the tender sandwich and intend to keep it that way.

Porchetta’s Signature Sandwich | Photo credit: Porchetta

The owners, Sara Jenkins and Matt Lindemulder, strive to create something unique, consistent and affordable for city-goers that are looking for a quick bite. The pork is cooked slowly and is just about everything you would want on a sandwich. The meat is juicy, crispy and soft. The bread is crunchy. In short, it’s roasted perfection.

Crispy Potatoes with Burnt Edges | Photo credit: Porchetta

While the Porchetta sandwich is their specialty, their other dishes are not to be overlooked. The sides are just like something you’d find in an old Italian kitchen: authentic, homemade and fresh. The crispy potatoes with burnt ends are an excellent complement to the namesake sandwich.

Luckily for you, FoodtoEaters, Porchetta is geared towards take out and delivery. Their sandwiches can be delivered right to your door or pre-ordered online for pick up. Check out Porchetta’s entire menu here and the line at this small shop are known to be pretty lengthy, so order online and get the food delivered to your door. Looking to impress a date with your savvy take out skills? We think a candlelight dinner featuring Porchetta sandwiches will sweep anybody off their feet.

DailyFoodtoEat is the official blog ofFoodtoEat, a socially conscious online food ordering and concierge catering service featuring your favorite restaurants, food trucks and caterers. Check out the deliciousness here: www.foodtoeat.com

Don’t they say we’re all a little bit Irish? Probably one of the largest diasporas in human history, the Irish have gifted us with many wonderful foods (and beers!). Here, we provide a short list of where to go for an Irish-inspired breakfast, lunch and dinner on St. Patrick’s Day:

Puck Fair is not your typical Irish bar. Not only does this place have an amazing beer selection, but the food is great as well. People go for the curry fries but on St. Patrick’s Day, go ahead and walk through the door at 11am for a Full Irish Breakfast, which usually consists of eggs, toast, black and white pudding. Black pudding is blood sausage (don’t get turned off by the name, it’s quite good!) and white pudding is just plain old regular sausage.

End your St. Patty’s Day eating fest with Corned Beef Hash at McSorley’s Old Ale House in the East Village. Established in 1854, one of the oldest Irish pubs in NYC (Abe Lincoln and John Lennon have walked through these doors!), McSorley’s is definitely the place to end (or start) your night.

We never (and will never ever) forget about dessert. Cupcakes are not exactly Irish but these Sweet Generation cupcakes do have a lucky 4-leaf clover on them! Sweet Generation makes specialized St. Patrick’s Day cupcakes and they are delicious. So if you’re having a party, let us know and we can get these cupcakes catered for you. Cupcakes and beer – now that’s a great way to celebrate the luck of the Irish!

DailyFoodtoEat is the official blog ofFoodtoEat, a sustainable online food ordering and concierge catering service featuring your favorite restaurants, food trucks and caterers. Check out the deliciousness here: www.foodtoeat.com

Can you feel it? Can you taste it? The most delicious food crawl of the year is upon us. Taste of Seventh will run from 3/8 to 3/9 and will feature foods from East Village restaurants including Luke’s Lobster, Caracas Arepas, Porchetta, Butter Lane cupcakes, Oaxaca, Wechsler’s Currywurst, and Big Gay Ice Cream.

Tickets will start selling later today on Luke’s Lobster website and FoodtoEat will be offering a free ticket to one of our lucky customers tomorrow, 3/1. The free ticket to the event will be the kick-off prize for FoodtoEat’s Munch Madness promotion – simply place a food order on FoodtoEat and you’ll be entered to win! Each day- for an entire month -FoodtoEat will be giving away prizes and discounts.

Here’s a rundown of the scrumptious foods being offered:

Luke’s Lobster, will be serving a Maine-style, half lobster roll. Luke’s Lobster has been a staple of East Village since 2009 now with 10 restaurants, currently one truck and a Park Slope location on the way;

Luke’s Lobster Roll

Caracas Arepa Bar, straight from Venezuela with New York temperament, will be offering their vegetarian arepa, La Mamasita Arepa which is filled with grilled mushrooms, roasted corn, sweet plantains and the works;

La Mamacita Arepa | Photo: Thrillist

Porchetta, one of Time Out New York’s Best 100, will be serving traditional Italian roast pork sandwich with aromatic, crispy skin;

Porchetta Sandwich | Photo: Donna Alberico for The New York Times

Wechsler’s Currywurst, a New York City temple to German sausage, will be offering pork bratwurt with curry ketchup and fries;

Wechsler’s Currywurst & Fries

Oaxaca, celebrating a Mexican city rich in food culture, will serve a mini burrito;

Oaxaca Burrito | Photo: Oaxaca

Butter Lane, teaching the world how to bake perfect cupcakes, will be offering one of their six favorite cupcakes;

Raspberry Cupcake |Photo: Butter Lane

Big Gay Ice Cream, the innovative team that made old-fashioned soft-serve ice cream unique with glamorous toppings, will be serving up the Apple Gobbler, a vanilla sundae with grahams, bourbon butterscotch, apple butter and whipped cream.

Apple Gobbler from Big Gay Ice Cream | Photo: Bionic Bites

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to sample a bunch of New York City’s finest restaurants, all in one weekend, at a price that can’t be beat. And if you win a FREE ticket from FoodtoEat, it’ll be even more delicious.

Get excited, here’s the Munch Madness calendar:

FoodtoEat Munch Madness Calendar

DailyFoodtoEat is the official blog ofFoodtoEat, a sustainable online food ordering and concierge catering service featuring your favorite restaurants, food trucks and caterers. Check out the deliciousness here: www.foodtoeat.com

We know the New Yorker life—you will easily spend $30.00 on food per day if you don’t cook. But keeping your eye out for places offering lunch specials can save you a significant amount of money, while keeping you satiated at the same time. Here are a few of our favorite deals in neighborhoods near you!

1. Murray Hill

Chinese Mirch- 28th street and Lexington AvenueLunch Special- $9.99-$10.99
Yelp: 3 Stars
This Indochinese restaurant serves very generous portions of food for lunch: a hot and sour or wonton soup, an appetizer, dumpling and entree. And like many new restaurants and cafes, the main course is “Chipotle-esque”: you pick your protein, one of five tangy sauces and rice. At the end, you will either walk home very, very full or with a box of leftovers. Save big, Savor big.

2. Hell’s KitchenBreeze Thai-French Kitchen- 9th Avenue, between 45th and 46th streetsLunch Prix Fixe – $6.95
Yelp: 3.5 Stars
The prix fixe lunch includes a choice of a tasty appetizer, Tofu Vegetable Soup or a Mixed Green Salad, and an entrée. The entrée choices are numerous, including the usual Thai offerings, salads, French entrees, and South East Asian Style Sandwiches, all of which are customizable! Seriously, talk about the tastiest, biggest bang for the littlest buck!

3. Midtown East

Radicchio Pasta & Risotto Co.- 53rd street between 2nd and 3rd avenuesLunch Special- $10.00-$14.00
Yelp: 3.5 Stars
Affordable pastas and risottos are hard to come by, given Italian restaurants’ rather romantic and decorative reputation. Radicchio Pasta & Risotto Co cooks up fresh pastas and risottos, packs them with two warm pieces of bread, a salad or soup, and a tiny sweet. The treat is usually a baby biscotti, but if you’re lucky, it could be a ladyfinger shaped brownie. The sauces already use little to no cream, so just request whole-wheat pasta. It’s what we like to call, “clean comfort.”

4. Greenwich VillageBare Burger- La Guardia Place between West 3rd Street and Bleecker StreetNYU Special- $8.95
Yelp: 4 Stars
An all natural, organic beef patty and farm-fresh ingredients on a soft brioche bun for a reasonable price? Yep, you betcha! A lot of the burger and sandwich varieties are pricy, but that’s precisely why the burger joint has offered an exclusive NYU student special. You get a basic burger, (special ingredients may cost a bit extra), a side of hand-cut, crispy fries, and a soda for half the cost of a burger or sandwich alone. Is that a deal or is that a steal?

5. East Village

Cafetasia- 8th Street between Broadway and University PlaceLunch Special- $8.00
Yelp: 3.5 Stars
When NYU students think of cheap lunch, Cafetasia is the first thing that pops into mind. Their $8 lunch special, which constitutes of an appetizer and an entrée from a select menu, is a deal. Cheese and Crab Rangoon is a definite winner of all the starters and Basil Udon noodles and Green Curry never fail to deliver both taste and satisfaction. Also, you’ll find that Cafetasia does not charge extra based on protein type. If you want more variety or a tapas-style experience, you might choose the 3 appetizers for $12 deal.

6. East Village AGAIN!The Penny Farthing- 13th Street & 3rd AvenueLunch Special- $8-$9
Yelp: 3 Stars
The Irish gastropub’s penny pasta is surefire tongue-tantalizer and the Cajun Salmon Sandwich is a delicious and wholesome item that comes with one of the best-cooked fries in town, or a salad or soup. Not a sandwich person? That’s okay, you can choose from a hearty salad, pasta or fish of the day.

7. West Village

Hummus Place- The corner of Barrow Street & Bleecker StreetLunch Special- Starts at $8
Yelp: 4 Stars
Mmmmm Mediterranean food! The Hummus Place is one of the few food places that will leave you satisfied without spiking your blood glucose levels. You can chose one entrée and receive a free side for the lunch special! Though not counted in the special (what else would you expect?), the dessert is a guilt-free source of sweetness in case you have a sweet tooth.

DailyFoodtoEat is the official blog ofFoodtoEat, a sustainable online food ordering and concierge catering service featuring your favorite restaurants, food trucks and caterers. Check out the deliciousness here: www.foodtoeat.com

Living in your time and evolving with it if not ahead of it is crucial. Or you’ll turn into a dinosaur.

In view of that, we at Foodtoeat will always advocate saving time and ordering online from hundreds of wonderful restaurants and food trucks through our site. Why waste 40 minutes waiting in line at a Food Truck when you could have pre-ordered and been back at work in 10 minutes?

Yet, while we will always be staunch supporters being efficient and savvy with advances like Foodtoeat, we will remain practical and cater our blog to a variety of circumstances.

Like, when it is 3 a.m. and you have just left a club, quite out of it and starving. What is the likelihood that you will order food for delivery? Let’s be real now.

But will you get a fresh slice or two from Two Bros Pizza on your way back home? Definitely, if you are sloshed. Maybe, if you are only at a “good drunk” level. Because in a somewhat working state of mind, you might question how gross you will feel after ingesting all that oil and cheese. Or you might just want “real” food since your taste is refined in everything and you just have to keep it classy at all times. All times.

If you are that person, here is news for you. There are two ethnic eateries open all day, all night. The first is a Ukrainian restaurant, “Veselka,” conveniently located near pubs like the “Thirteenth Step” in the East Village on 9th street and 2nd avenue. I would not go there without having tried their pierogis. You can get a small plate of four or large plate of seven and mix and match the potato, cheese, meat, spinach and cheese, sauerkraut & mushroom, and arugula & goat cheese fillings. They’re served with sautéed onions, applesauce, and sour cream, all of which make for excellent dipping sauces.

If you’re not adventurous, regardless of your intoxication level, breakfast is served at all hours of the day. And even if you are sober, you might want to stop by for brunch on the weekend. Signature American dishes like the Eggs Benedict are served with an authentic spin on it. How about Salmon Latkes Eggs Benedict?

Even more surprising than a Ukrainian restaurant being open for twenty-four hours? A French Restaurant. You would think sophisticated bistros closed early to add to their air of exclusivity, but not L’Express. Located close to hotels and lounges near Union Square and Gramercy on 20th Street and Park, L’Express delivers provides fine dining at reasonable pricing.

When was the last time you had a savory onion tart, forest mushroom ravioli, and apricot crème brulée at 4 a.m.? Thought so. The overnight menu, while not nearly as extensive as that of Veselka, has plenty of plates to choose from and a wide variety. So say you decided for whatever reason, in your drunken state, that you want Escargots, you can very well order them. But I would stick to any of the above three items as well as to the roasted half chicken, the Croque Monsieur L’Express, and any dessert really. Especially the apricot crème brulée.

DailyFoodtoEat is the official blog ofFoodtoEat, a sustainable online food ordering and concierge catering service featuring your favorite restaurants, food trucks and caterers. Check out the deliciousness here: www.foodtoeat.com

In addition to damaging infrastructure and devastating neighborhoods, Hurricane Sandy caused the loss of 30,000 jobs in and around New York City, according to the NY Times and the New York State Department of Labor. These jobs were mostly in the hospitality and food service industries.

Restaurant closings were widespread in affected areas such as Alphabet City, the Financial District, Red Hook, and The Rockaways, among other hard-hit neighborhoods.

FoodtoEat saw the devastation firsthand as we planned two Hurricane Sandy Restaurant Relief Food Crawls, the first of which occurred on November 17 and the second on December 8. We spoke to restaurant owners who felt so dejected by the storm and were grateful to be getting people back in their doors. Restaurant owners lost thousands in inventory and business during their forced closures. Upon reopening, many were cash only since (now 66 days later!) phone lines and internet had yet to be restored. These restaurants, such as Cafecito however, are some of the luckier ones. Many vendors on Avenue C (such as the C-Town supermarket) in the East Village were so damaged that they have remained closed since the storm.

In downtown neighborhoods such as the Financial District, many corporate offices were forced to relocate. Because of that, nearby restaurants, caterers and corporate cafeterias have been without business. With few customers and few open restaurants, the area has become a food desert.

Because FoodtoEat understands the hardships of restaurant owners, especially after a disaster like Hurricane Sandy, we’ve waived our usual 10 cent/order fee for affected restaurants for six months. We will remain active in Sandy relief efforts and continue to play a role in helping victims as much as possible. Despite many parts of NY recovering, it will be a long time before neighborhoods are rebuilt and storm victims, whether they be restaurant owners, displaced families, or displaced companies return to normalcy.

DailyFoodtoEat is the official blog ofFoodtoEat, a sustainable online food ordering and concierge catering service featuring your favorite restaurants, food trucks and caterers. Check out the deliciousness here: www.foodtoeat.com